Today I did a bit of gardening, whooptey doo I hear you all say we all have gardening to do I hear, its not a big deal and yes normally I would agree. Its been so long since I just pottered around in the garden though. pulling a few weeds turning up some soil and planting a few plants. Up until 2 years ago it was not all that uncommon to find me wandering around my garden, talking to my Luc giggling at her when she would go lay in a hole I had just dug to put in a new plant. After surgery though  digging was a big no no.  Since then with other health issues its just been easier to not go out and risk  being laid up for days after.


We pulled down the big kiddy pool out the back yesterday. Well I pulled it down and the kids helped me to fold it up and pack it away. What was left was a big yellow compacted circle in my back yard. For months now I have been saying since the grass never grew back from last year we should make it a big native garden out the back . Hide the ugly fence and make the back yard more inviting. Hubby did not like this idea at all. What is it about men and wanting  an entire yard of nothing but lawns? Lawns are boring, they require weekly mowing and to keep them green need more water than we are allowed to give them. Hubby loves to potter around the garden  all the time and normally I just let him go and do what he pleases. He does after all do the mowing,  keeps the fertilizing up and prunes the poor plants to death, so why shouldn't the choice be his as to what goes in.


The thing is we are sell in  a little under a year and  there is just so much work that really needs to be done to make the place look presentable. More and more people are looking for low maintenance gardens. Water wise gardens are becoming so popular with the water restrictions so tight these days. and while I do love the English garden style with lots of blooms and rolling lawns, They just require too much water.


So there I was at 8am after just getting the kiddies off to school. breakfast dishes done, dolled up in my daggy baggies and old straw hat digging away to my hearts content.  Pulling weeds that had been left to grow wild since the pool had gone up 4 months ago. There they are I think to myself, I found my lemon grevillea's under the  grass and that bloody ivy(morning glory), that seems to be covering my entire suburb, no matter how much we all poison it! They are now waist height and bushing up nicely after buying them no more than  knee height  mid winter last year. Next comes  turning the compact soil... so far so good, then thwack. Ouch  my wrist is now jarred. Digging tentatively thinking I had found one of the sprinkler pipes I find a  long metal pipe has been belted into the soil. It was probably 2 feet long and at least a foot deep into the soil and very rusted so who knows how long ago it was buried. but we have had the house for close to 2 decades and never put anything in that section of the yard. 

By 10 am it was far too hot to be out there digging any more. My back ached, my wrist  was tender, I was sweating like the proverbial pig and I was itching all over from my allergy to that bloody vine. But I also had a smile on my face, felt more energized than I had in ages. Not to mention a kind of satisfaction in knowing I was well on my way to making my native hideaway corner looking  absolutely fantastic. A place where the birds will come each morning and night to refresh, feed and relax. A place where I can have a small nook with a comfy chair and read while feeling like I am surrounded by nature. I will also be able to look at it with pride when its all done, knowing I did it all by my self and it is exactly the way I want it.


I pick up the lad in half an hour for his early finish for school. Poor lad doesnt realize he has volunteered to go native plant shopping this afternoon. He is a good sport though and wont mind too much. Tomorrow I can start placing them and  deciding where they should go. Then Wednesday before the rains get here I will hopefully of finished and can get started on  working lawn runners into the rest of the yellow sand and pacify dear hubby with a small lawn peace offering=o)